The Puyallup parks department is designing a replacement for the popular wading pool in Pioneer Park that will debut next summer. The city will spend more than a half-million dollars on a new spray park and on educational playground equipment.

I know when winter strikes, the first thing I think about is dining outside! Yeah, no. Im a wimp. I hate eating outside in December unless my job forces the issue. And that brings me to todays blog post  al fresco wood-fired pizza.

To commemorate children lost to violence, Pierce County Sheriff Paul Pastor and Chuck Cox, grandfather to a pair of murdered boys, will attend a ceremony and candle-lighting vigil Friday at Puyallup's Woodbine Cemetery.

You survived Black Friday. You’re trying hard to figure out what Cyber Monday means. Maybe it’s time to join a worldwide effort called #givingtuesday — and coat your spirit in good will born of helping others.

Green Mountain Coffee Roasters' Sumner facility announces $226,000 in donations to Western Washington nonprofits during the past year. The company also emphasizes volunteer hours for its employees, giving them up to 52 hours of paid time off each year for volunteer work.

Wherever there's devastation and relief work to be done, thats where Dave and Lora York want to be. Last week, that was the Philippines. The Puyallup couple returned Wednesday from a 10-day deployment to some of the areas hardest hit by Typhoon Haiyan.

While I wrote earlier today about South Hills status as a chain mecca, downtown Puyallup is seeing a continued shift to sophisticated dining choices. Coming soon  a New Orleans themed steak and seafood restaurant, a modern Mexican restaurant and now a downtown restaurant owner has announced shes looking to open a high-end steakhouse on East Main. Read on.

Retired farmer Neil Van Lierop, who closed his decades-old operation in May, had previously secured a contingent deal to sell 13 acres to Schnitzer pending a decision on a proposed rezone of the land.

The council approved the change despite a Planning Commission recommendation to reject the proposal, vocal opposition from a standing-room-only crowd and an anti-rezone petition.

The decision unifies two parcels with slightly different industrial zoning, making it easier for the developer to build there. It also allows for warehouses, which previously weren’t allowed.

Van Lierop’s wife, Lore, spoke on his behalf urging the council to approve the rezone so the couple can sell the land and secure their retirement, noting her husband is nearing 76 years old.

“This land is ours. We have the right to do what we want with our land,” she said. “My husband worked all his life in this valley. It is time for him to quit. If anyone wants to come farm our land, they are welcome to do it.”

Resident Tom Taylor hauled in a plastic bin filled with 600-plus petitions opposing the rezone, holding it up in front of council members.

“I ask that you consider who you’re representing and what they’re saying,” he said, drawing applause from the crowd.

Nancy Johnson, a Planning Commission member, said that once one warehouse goes in, others will soon follow.

“I urge you to promote growth that adds to the community, not detracts,” she said, drawing more applause from the crowd. “Why don’t you offer creative alternatives rather than the mantra of property-owner rights?”

The new zoning chips away at a mixed-use approach that Planning Commission members and landowners agreed on four years ago.

Residents have said approval of the rezone would undermine the original mixed-use vision and invite a “sea of warehouses” into an area that is seen as a “gateway” to the city.

Palmer echoed that point Tuesday night.

“Why perpetuate warehouses that this city does not want to see?” he asked.

Swanson emphasized before the vote that the council’s job is to act as judges of the application criteria. He said he didn’t go to the meeting with his mind made up.

Jeff Harmer, a Schnitzer representative, said his company would be open to working with residents to address their concerns.

An idea to create new parks space in Puyallup has been thrown into the middle of a land-use debate as the City Council prepares to take a final vote Tuesday on a proposed industrial rezone of former farmland near Shaw Road.

The Puyallup School District will ask voters to approve two tax measures in a February election — one a replacement levy to pay for ongoing operations, and a second levy to pay for both capital improvements to school buildings and technology purchases and upgrades.